Dark Eldar Vehicles
The Dark Eldar have an assorment of advanced technology and vehicles. Light Vehicles Reaver Jetbikes ' Reaver Jetbikes (riders are often referred to as Reavers) are the twisted Dark Eldar cousins of the Eldar Jetbikes. Using advanced anti-grav technology, these ultra-fast vehicles race ahead of the main force, able to strike at the most vulnerable locations in the enemy's battle line. Piloted by members of Wych Cults, the bikes themselves are adorned with all manner of spikes, blades and trailing snares. The favored method of attack is in close combat, using the speed of the vehicle to rapidly close on the enemy and to slash with the hull mounted blades as the Reaver swoops past. Riders are highly proficient with this method of attack, able to disembowel and sever limbs with relative ease. Jetbikes themselves are often of a variable configuration, with the frontal canopy, rear canards and keel blades all able to assume different forms, it is unknown however if this is to aid in combat performance, bike control or merely aesthetics. The standard primary armament is a hull mounted Splinter Rifle which is on occasion upgraded to a Shredder, Blaster, or Heat Lance. Additional options also include Cluster Caltrops and Grav-talons. '''Venom ' The Venom is a fast and agile anti-grav vehicle with a small transport capacity used by the Harlequins, Eldar Corsairs, and the Dark Eldar. In size and nimbleness it is comparable to the Vyper used by the Eldar Craftworlds or the Sky-Chariot of the ancient Eldar Empire. The Venom is preferred by the Dark Eldar over other transports for its small size and deft nimbleness. As it is the largest and most populous transports that enemy soldiers will target first, such as Raiders, many Dark Eldar commanders will choose to enter battle upon a small Venom instead. The vehicle's handling is so sensitive to the commands of its pilot that it can weave its way unharmed through a storm of incoming fire, using its holographic Flickerfield to further confuse the enemy. In the hands of a skilled pilot it can even navigate through areas of the Webway built only for the passage of a single individual. The Venom is usually used to transport a cadre of elite Dark Eldar warriors into battle, striking like a poisoned dart at the heart of the foe. Though on occasion they are used to transport only a single warrior into battle, usually a Dark Eldar noble too arrogant or paranoid to trust their own bodyguards. Sometimes a Dark Eldar lord or champion will not wish to consort with mere footsoldiers aboard a Raider and so will choose to ride the smaller Venom instead. They are also a popular vehicle with Commorrite hunters and aristocrats of the upper spires who enjoy running their enemies down. Grav Tanks 'Raider ' Raiders are the main transports of the Dark Eldar. Fast but very lightly armored, they are highly vulnerable to enemy infantry, even those who are not primarily tank hunters. They use advanced anti-grav technology powered by compact turbo engines to move swiftly across the battlefield, commonly used to rush the enemy, or to capture territory and are relatively versatile. They are also equipped with aethersails to harness the energies flowing from the Webway Portal from which they descend. They are commonly seen carrying a group of around ten Dark Eldar Warriors into battle, which deploy rapidly to provide numbers in an assault. Raiders are usually highly customized depending on which Kabal they belong to, often adorned with insignia and the body parts of conquered victims. Usually armed with a Dark Lance, Raiders may also be equipped with special upgrades, like the Horrorfex, Night Shield, Scaling Nets/Slave Snares, Screaming Jets, Scythes, Torture Amp and Trophy Racks. Once enemy forces have been vanquished, it is common for the last survivors to be chained or impaled to the Raider. Those Dark Eldar who have died in the raid are also carried back to Commorragh in a bloody heap, showing the lack of dignity and respect the Dark Eldar treat even their own kin. 'Ravager ' The Ravager, also known as the Ravager Gunship is a Dark Eldar vehicle built on a nearly identical chassis to the Raider. The Dark Eldar commonly use it to come out of a Webway portal and wreak havoc on enemy armour, fortifications and personnel. The Ravager was converted from the original transport vessel to a heavy fire support vehicle, and has fortified front and side armour. Ravagers are equipped with three heavy weapons, usually Dark Lances or Disintegrator Cannons. Ravagers may also be equipped with special upgrades, like the Horrorfex, Night Shield, Screaming Jets and Scythes. They are also equipped with sophisticated targeting arrays which display precise information about their enemy. This makes up for what it lacks in armour with speed and firepower. In battle, Ravagers are nimble and swift, using their maneuverability to destroy more lumbering Human or Ork tanks. Ravager gunships are so fast and maneuverable that they can ambush an enemy tank and destroy it in a single pass, vanishing before the enemy even realizes what hit them. Their capabilities are further improved through their tactics, with Ravager crews being well-trained and well-briefed about their targets capabilities. Their commanders will assign then specific targets in battle, ensuring that the Ravager formation operates as a unified, efficient killing machine. A well-trained and led Ravager squadron is capable if appearing from nowhere and destroying even a Titan of the Adeptus Mechanicus in a single volley and disappearing over the horizon before the behemoth machine has even toppled to the ground. 'Reaper ' Akin to the more commonly encountered Ravager, the Reaper is a high speed attack gunship used by the Dark Eldar. Unlike its brother-craft however, its sleek, dart-like hull is built around a single powerful weapon — the Storm Vortex Projector. This cannon — like the smaller Haywire Blaster — unleashes a cascading pulse of electromagnetic energy but on a scale far more powerful than anything possible in a hand weapon. The vortex chamber at the heart of the Reaper is a cage for howling energies harvested from the spires of Commorragh, which when unleashed creates a hurricane of lightning capable of crippling the heaviest enemy vehicles and burning out the nervous system of living creatures, roasting enemy soldiers alive from within. For all its offensive power, the Reaper, like most other Dark Eldar warcraft relies on speed and manoeuvrability to survive on the battlefield, and disdains the brute attrition of armoured warfare as practiced by the Imperium or the Orks in favour of bloody ambush and predation. The Reaper, though a rare and costly device, is greatly loved by the Kabals and Wych Cults who field them, as the Storm Vortex can be used to easily disable fleeing refugee transports and shuttlecraft with the minimum of collateral damage — all the better for the Dark Eldar themselves to get at the delectable contents within. 'Tantalus ' First crafted for the Archon Surasis Grief of the Kabal of the Dark Mirror, the Dark Eldar Tantalus is an assault skimmer, somewhat larger and more complex in design than the Raider, and accordingly better armed. Its distinctive twin-hulled design houses powerful engine-reactors slaved to enhanced drives and its unique scythevane armament. One of the largest Dark Eldar vehicles yet encountered by the Imperial war machine, the cruel reavers who crew this sleek engine of destruction take delight in mounting high-speed attacks, slicing through the hulls of enemy vehicles and rending infantry into crimson shreds, heralded by the screech of the molecular dissonance fields of its scythevanes and the rapid fire of its Pulse-Disintegrator armament. Flyers '''Raven Fighter ' ' The Raven Fighter is a Dark Eldar Strike Fighter. It is armed with two Dark Lances and one long-barrelled Splinter Cannon. Some Dark Eldar raiding forces have noticed the extreme vulnerability of their light-weight transport skimmers, the Raiders. Therefore they have utilised Raven Fighters to support advancing Raiders by destroying tanks with their dark lances. After all tanks which might interrupt advancing of Raiders are destroyed, Raven Fighters start to use their splinter cannons to pound enemy infantry positions. Razorwing ''' The Razorwing is a supersonic flyer employed by the Dark Eldar. It is of a similar design to the Nightwing fighter utilised by the Craftworld Eldar. The Razorwing has an impressive weapons layout for a vehicle of its size, typically being armed with twin-linked Splinter Rifles, two wing-mounted Dark Lances and four missiles. Razorwing pilots are highly skilled at high-speed combat, generally having come from the ranks of the most elite Reaver Jetbike riders. '''Missile Types The Razorwing can be equipped with one of several types of missile; known types include: *Monoscythe missiles - designed to release a wave of energy at head-hight upon impact, decapitating nearby foes *Necrotoxin missiles - Filled with deadly neuropoisons, it fires shards of toxic shrapnel when it detonates, killing and pinning the enemy *Shatterfield missiles - has two separate detonation chambers, the first one sucks away all warmth, turning the foe into ice-like statues. The second one sends out a powerful force that blows the brittle enemy to pieces. Voidraven Bomber ''' Though considered by the Dark Eldar to be the ultimate in heavy weapon deployment, the Voidraven Bomber is an extremely agile aircraft capable of outmaneuvering Imperial aircraft with ease. In addition, Voidravens are equipped with sonic dampening systems, making them virtually silent to unsuspecting victims below. Equipped with a void lance and missiles, the Voidraven is well suited for ground attack missions. However, this is not its most feared weapon. Each Voidraven carries a single Void Mine which introduces darklight into real space in a catastrophic implosion that leaves nothing but an enormous hemispherical crater in its wake. It is for this reason that Voidravens are one of the most feared weapons deployed by the Dark Eldar. '''Missile Types The Voidraven can be equiped with one of several known types of weaponry: *Monoscythe missiles - designed to release a wave of energy at head-height upon impact, decapitating nearby foes. *Necrotoxin missiles - Filled with deadly neuropoisons, it fires shards of toxic shrapnel when it detonates, killing and pinning the enemy. *Shatterfield missiles - has two separate detonation chambers, first one sucks away all warmth, turning the foe into ice-like statues. The second one sends out a powerful force that blows the brittle enemy to pieces. *Implosion missiles - large missiles that cause the enemy hit by the explosion to instantly implode and collapse onto themselves, leaving behind nothing except charred remains.